Crystal Dreams of Neverwhen
by Mystikwriter
Summary: Before and after, never and always. Small snippets of what might have been and what will never be. Sarah and Jareth centric.
1. Neither Up Nor Down

I've always had a soft spot for Labyrinth, and I recently started a project over at Livejournal called Fanfic100. The problem is the site is really slow about getting my account set up so I've decided to post them over here as well. I don't have them all written yet, obviously, but I will be writing them whenever I can. Luckily inspiration doesn't seem to be that short for this fandom. Let me know what you think!

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Nothing was the same.

Hands clenched at her sides, Sarah turned in a slow circle. Everything looked the same. She had been coming to this park for as long as she could remember. Nothing had changed, and yet everything was different.

Sarah couldn't pinpoint it at first. It was a subtle feeling, more an implied sensation of 'wrongness'. Looking around, there were no glaring declarations of change. The bench Merlin had sat on that afternoon so long ago was still there. The trees were just beginning to shed their leaves, following the silent prompting of fall. Out of the corner of her eye she could see joggers and bikers make their way across the small bridge spanning the lake that was the park's life blood.

Feeling lost and out of touch, she gingerly seated herself on the stone bench. The chill that clung to the pale stone seeped through her jeans, and she shivered, drawing her arms around her middle. It was unnerving how alien this place seemed. It was as if her time Underground had irrevocably changed how she viewed the Aboveground.

Sarah's breath caught in her throat as she realized just how she had referred to her world. Only it wasn't _her_ world anymore. Now it was one of two worlds, and the Aboveground could not begin to match the depth of its twin. Ensnared by the comparison of the two, Sarah's mind brought up the image of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. They were one in the same, only with two very different faces that were bound by magic. One was the monster, only Sarah couldn't decide which of the two worlds held the heart of darkness.

The grass, where before it had been lush and vivid, was now dull and brittle beneath her feet. The sky was bland; the blue was faded and worn by the passage of time and life it self. The orange and yellow leaves were rotting at the base of their parent trees, the musky scent overwhelming the flowers that struggled nearby.

When compared to the warm wind of Underground, the sharp, biting cold of Aboveground was unbearable. The air from Underground filled her lungs and tingled with every breath. She saw clearer down there, the sounds were sharper, and the tastes more intense. The lush taste of a peach still danced across her tongue, there and gone with every breath. The cold wind of Aboveground reminded Sarah more of the cold touch of metal at the nape of her neck.

The Underground had revealed to her the pitfalls of dreams gone rogue and horrible wishes whispered in a dark room. It had turned stable reality into a pitfall of treachery and leering shadows. It had done all this, and it was the World Above that left her trembling and fearful.

The deep rolling chimes of a clock reached her, and she started, her mind flashing back to a clock that bore thirteen numbers instead of twelve. She looked to the distant clock tower where her gaze was drawn to the elegant hands that marked the time. She had never stopped to consider the clock tower before. That it looked strange without the number thirteen reigning high over the other numbers was just another sign of how much things had changed.

How Jareth would laugh if he saw her now. She may have managed to deny him in the end with her words, but Sarah realized that in the end he had won. She got her brother, but he had stolen her whole world.

Shivering from an abrupt gust of icy wind, Sarah curled in on her self and closed her eyes, her forehead pressed against her knees. Her long hair fell around her legs as she saw not the drab world that was her sanctuary turned prison, but the sparkling world of magic and fire orange skies that was her nightmare turned fantasy.

Such a pity.

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	2. Inevitable Return

I was surprised at how fast I started getting reviews. I didn't realize that Labyrinth was such a popular fanfiction.

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Sarah supposed it was only a matter of time.

She took a deep breath. The air was warm and tasted like sunshine and glitter, something she had come to recognize as the taste of magic. It hurt to realize how much she had missed it, how lifeless the air Aboveground tasted in comparison. Was that ironic? That the air Aboveground, where life continued along the flow of time, tasted lesser to the air Underground, that defied reality as she knew it.

In the distance the Labyrinth stretched out in a vast expanse of living stone and magic. Standing on the bluff high above the Goblin City and the surrounding Labyrinth, she could almost see the haze of magic that pulsed through every wall and stone like a human heart beat. If she squinted, she could actually see it move, walls rippling and shifting like a snake shedding its skin.

Reaching up to smooth her hair behind her ear, Sarah deliberately did not think about a night long ago when she had made a selfish wish. So much had happened since that night, so much had changed. The lines of reality became blurred, insubstantial when faced with hard consequences derived from foolish choices.

The sky was orange in the Underground. Not a simple orange, but a collusion of pale orange, dark orange, and orange red. The colors didn't merely blend together, but instead meshed in a way that kept them individual even as it forced them to become one. She wondered if there was some connection between the vivid orange of Underground and the bright blue of Aboveground.

Sarah scuffed her tennis shoe in the loose dirt underfoot, absently noting a shrub that inched away to avoid being ground underfoot. There was something off. The sky was the same; the distant wall of mazes was the same, but something wasn't right. Sarah wrinkled her nose as she considered, her mind so close to dragging it out into the open.

A flash of color caught her eye and she looked up as a butterfly flitted through the air towards her. She watched its awkward flight, entranced in spite of her self. There was something about the butterflies in the Underground that the Aboveground failed to mimic. Or maybe the Underground mimicked the Aboveground, and the flair of magic that was its life blood gave it a little something extra.

To her surprise, or maybe not since this was the Underground, the butterfly fluttered closer. It wove in front of her face a few times before she was struck with the odd thought that it was waiting. Sarah's brow furrowed in thought, and she considered the flighty insect. Ever since her first trip to the Underground she had done some research on the Fey. The most important rule concerning the Fey was do not, under any circumstances, say thank you. The second was to beware making an offer.

In the end Sarah did not resist her first impulse, and lifted her hand to offer the butterfly a perch. Yes, there was the chance that this was not just any butterfly, but Sarah did not see the harm in offering the creature a place to rest.

The butterfly's grip on her finger was tentative, and she had to focus to feel it at all. It flapped its wings a few times before letting them fall open, the wing tips brushing against her skin in the softest of kisses.

Sarah's lungs froze and it was only shock that kept her from throwing the butterfly off its perch. The butterfly's wings were black as velvet, except for two eyes that stared out from the center of each wing. One was a vivid blue that burned against the black that surrounded it, and the other was a rich brown.

Jareth's eyes.

Unnerved by the sight of the Goblin King's eyes watching her from the wings of a butterfly, Sarah looked away. So, that's what was missing. Now that she thought of it, she realized how much his presence had added to the overall view of the Underground. It was understandable. What was a realm without its king?

Looking down, she was surprised to see that the butterfly had vanished. The only sign of its presence was the sprinkling of glitter it had left on her skin. Dropping her hand she wiped the glitter off onto her jeans. "Better than getting bitten by a faerie."

Taking one last moment to stare out at the distant Labyrinth, Sarah started down the hill. Compared to her first visit, this one was definitely looking up.

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I'm going to make an attempt to post a new drabble at least once a week. Once in a while I will post two. I have a couple written out right now and I want to make it so I always have a few stored away in case my muse takes a vacation.


	3. Web of Dreams

I felt I should post now in the time that I have between working and studying my ass off for finals. Sigh.

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The storm raged outside in a seething torrent. The wind howled beyond the double doors, the glass panes rattled and shook as they were pounded by wind and rain. Sarah didn't need to look outside to feel the lightning split the sky in brilliant flashes of light, could almost smell the ozone released with each quick strike. Thunder ripped through the sky, rumbling and growling as it chased after the lightning.

Sarah lay in her bed, hands resting on her stomach. Her eyes were wide and unseeing, the shadows swaying across the ceiling in a parody of a dance she remembered from long ago. She knew that the twisting shadows were created by the light from the street lamp outside and the swaying branches outside her window as they fought the storm, but that didn't stop her from remembering.

The sun had long ago descended beneath the horizon, and her family had been asleep for hours now, but not her. Sarah remained awake, not daring to sleep, not when she knew what was waiting for her in her dreams.

Looking back, she supposed that she should have known better than to think it was over. After all she had endured in her journey through the Labyrinth, she should have been suspicious.

She didn't understand why she hadn't seen it. Had she really been so naïve? She had made her way through the Labyrinth, had been locked in the oubliette, had nearly had her head pulled from her shoulders, had had to rip her way out of a dream, something that still haunted her. And all it had taken to get Toby was to deny the Goblin King with words?

In that crucial moment, she had forgotten that this story was no fairytale come to life. It was something so much more fantastic, something that held the terrible, knife edge of reality. And like knives, it cut both ways.

Sarah closed her eyes, wanting to cry as she remembered how simple the world had been back then. She had been the heroine, the one to save her baby brother and vanquish the evil Goblin King. But she hadn't understood, not like she did now.

She should have seen. She had never stopped to consider why Hoggle would be so frightened of Jareth, what had caused her friend to betray her. It had never occurred to her what it would take for a man like Jareth to be King of the Goblins. The goblins had been fierce, nasty creatures, and she had never once stopped to consider what that meant about their king. The one to rule them.

It was a week after her journey through the Labyrinth that she knew Jareth had been playing with her. The truth had left her cold and shaking in her dreams, Jareth's laughter as bold as a pair of hands skimming over her sides. He had then served to enlighten her. Everything she'd done, the words of 'power' that she had spoken had been nothing but a game to him. A game that he had allowed her to win.

He had played her game, and now she was expected to play his. Only this time it wasn't her brother that was at stake, it was Sarah herself.

Sarah closed her lips against the sob that lingered in the back of her throat, her eyes burning from lack of sleep. She was so tired, but she wouldn't, couldn't sleep. Not when Jareth was waiting for her where reality ended and dreams began.

This fight was nothing like the last. Before she had been fighting for her brother, had been filled with a sense of purpose and knowing. The goal had been clear, and the consequences unbearable. The battle she now endured had none of the certainty, and she found herself up against a foe that was far more dangerous than anything the Labyrinth could throw at her. Jareth alone had been daunting, and faced with her own desires as well, her defenses were crumbling. It was so much easier to persevere against an outside force, to push back. Caught up in the battle against her self as much as Jareth, Sarah was floundering.

Jareth's game was complex, with rules that she could never hope to understand or learn. He came with sly smiles and gleaming crystal gifts, and magic lingered in the air after he left. There was something in his eyes, something dark that repelled her, even as it drew her in. She was a fly caught in his spider's web, only the web was made of finest crystal, and his game for her was not the simple one of prey and predator.

"_Sarah, beware. I have been generous up until now, and I can be cruel."_

His words from that fateful confrontation continued to haunt her, echoing through her mind with newfound clarity. She would be honest with herself and say that he had warned her, couching it in abstract words and hidden meaning. In his own way, he had offered her a way out. Allow him this win, and she would escape the second, deeper game he was planning. She hadn't understood, and even if she had, her brother would always be too high of a price to pay. Not even her dreams were worth her brother's life as a human.

"You have no power over me."

Her whisper fell flat in the darkness, nearly swallowed by the storm that continued to rage just outside. What had happened, when had everything changed? Why had she been able to defy him? Jareth twisted his words, and proclaimed that he had allowed her to win, but she had remembered the frustration in his eyes as she said those words. If nothing else had been real, she believed for that one moment, he truly had no power over her.

"What changed?" Her voice was thin. Exhaustion was creeping up on her, sinking tempting fingers of oblivion into her tired mind.

_You are no longer a child, my dear. _His voice flitted through her mind, reaching her as she dangled on the cusp of sleep. _Now you are something more._

A single tear slid down her cheek and landed on her pillow. She remembered the promises her friends had given her in the throne room before facing off with Jareth. They had promised to come if she called. She wanted to call them, but there was nothing they could do for her. She was beyond their reach now, and it hurt. But Jareth could still reach her, after all, he was the Goblin King.

_Don't fight me, Sarah. It will change nothing._

Sleep was beckoning, and Sarah was powerless to fight it. Turning on to her side, her eyes slid shut as they proved unable to carry the burden of her exhaustion. Her mind growing fuzzier by the second, she whispered, "This isn't fair."

_That depends on your basis for comparison._ His laugh followed his words, echoing through her mind to meld with the warm darkness growing stronger behind her eyes.

Then Sarah was asleep, and her dreams began.

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	4. Haunting Melody

I thought things would get better once winter vacation started. I was wrong.

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"Basically all you have to remember is that the exponents must be equal if the bases are the same."

Sarah tried to concentrate on her teacher's endless droning as he explained the exponential functions, but his words were slipping in one ear and out the other. She knew she should be paying attention, but she couldn't seem to make her self sit up, or lift her head off her curled hand. Her only consolation was that the other students were just as bad. There was a restless air to the classroom in general, and she could hear everyone shift in their seats, the rat-a-tat of clicking pens blending with the teacher's voice.

Sarah wasn't overly alarmed when she began to hear music.

It started soft. It was such a tenuous sound that at first she thought she was imagining things. It would fade in and out as the teacher's voice washed over her, lulling her into a hazy zone of boredom. Her eyelids grew heavy and she could feel her head growing heavier.

As it gradually got louder she was able to shake off the awful lethargy that math gave her even on good days. Instead of blending with the teacher's voice it collided, made a jarring note that had her looking around discretely for the source. Finding none, Sarah assumed with a silent shake of her head that someone had left their I-pod on high and they would turn it off soon rather than risk attracting the teacher's attention.

Instead of disappearing, the music increased, and Sarah felt the first tingling of alarm when the teacher never once paused in his lecture. Heart pounding, Sarah sat up straighter. It was nothing, she assured her self. Her professor was prone to ignoring distractions when he was in full lecture mode, and he was just giving the culprit a chance to turn off the I-pod without causing a scene.

As the music continued to grow louder, she began to make it out better. It was the kind of music a person could sit and listen to. The soft tunes held a slow tempo that discouraged dancing, but made it easy to drift away on one's thoughts as it inspired memories or emotions.

The music was pervasive, a haunting, taunting melody that dug up memories that should have remained buried. Against her will her gaze turned inward to a ballroom that glittered, filled with laughing, dancing beings that watched her from behind shining masks.

Sarah discretely slipped her hands over her ears, wanting to block it out. Only the music did not lessen, and instead kept growing in volume. Sarah fastened her gaze on the white board, using the equations and linear graphs to anchor her self to the real world, the world that mattered.

As frightening as the music was, it was the sudden words that accompanied it that terrified her.

"_No one can blame you, for walking away_

_Life can be easy, It's not always swell….."_

Sarah bit her lip to hold back the gasp as the smooth tones washed over her, the hypnotic voice echoing through her mind. And she knew the music was in her mind now. The voice was achingly familiar, and she hated that it still had the power to affect her, even after all this time. She was supposed to be done with that world.

"_Don't tell me truth hurts, little girl_

'_Cause it hurts like hell….."_

By now the music was deafening, and the words she could hear in Jareth's silky voice sliced at her mind like glitter coated knives. Old dreams and youthful mistakes bombarded her in time with the music, and it became too much to endure in silence. Shoveling her stuff into her backpack, Sarah fled from the room. The shocked stares of her classmates were ignored, and she didn't hear her teacher's complaint, not when she had Jareth's voice sliding through her mind like poisoned honey.

"_But down in the Underground_

_You'll find someone true….."_

Sarah reeled as she stumbled out of the classroom, fighting back tears of frustration as the music followed her, as Jareth's voice sank into the shadows of her mind. Hands shaking as she clutched at the thick straps of her backpack, Sarah forced her self to move, shivering as she faced the blatant proof that her past was not as far behind her as she had hoped.

"_Down in the underground_

_A land serene, A crystal moon…."_

The doors at the end of the long hall loomed closer, and through the stained window she could see the sunlight. Her steps echoed against the pale walls, and in the shadow of their echoes she could hear the faintest rustle, followed by chittering laughter. Underneath it all the music continued to play. By the time she shoved at the heavy metal door she was running full out, the swaying of her long hair mimicking the mocking touch of gloved fingers.

"_It's only forever_

_Not long at all…."_

The doors smashed against the walls with the sharp clang of metal striking stone, and she stumbled through them, falling onto a bench bathed in sunlight. The welcoming warmth chased away the faint laughter and the scuttling shadows. It anchored her Aboveground as her world threatened to drown beneath enchanting music and dreams turned into nightmares. Sarah clutched at the safety of the stone bench, feeling the heat of the sun bathed stone seep into her bones to counter the cold chill of fear.

"_Lost and lonely_

_That's the Underground….."_

Sarah had hoped and prayed that her story with the Labyrinth was done. When she was younger she had been told that her dreams could come true, and she had embraced that knowledge whole heartedly. That childish faith was coming back to haunt her now. She'd made her wish, and it had come true with all the horrors that her young mind had been unable to truly fathom. Sarah almost wished that they were truly horrible, that they were gruesome memories that she could will her self to forget. But what made them so horrible was how beautiful her memories were of the Labyrinth, and how no matter how much time she put behind her, the longing for that world below ground never faded.

"_That's Underground."_

The empty courtyard echoed with the silent strains of music that only Sarah could hear, and the silky voice of the Goblin King reverberated through memories that would not be left behind.

Far down in Underground, Jareth hummed as he gazed into his crystal, and he smiled.

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Jareth makes me smile.

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	5. Smells Like Magic

So I know this one is short, but I do plan on posting another one later. This one was just too funny to leave lounging in my documents.

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Sarah never thought that magic would have a smell.

It wasn't obvious at first. In the beginning all she'd noticed were the looming stone walls of the Labyrinth and the way her heart pounded against her breast bone. She'd noticed the way time dragged and skipped, bunched together in a quick flashes only to stretch out into the distant future.

She hadn't really given the magic much thought, not until everything was over, her brother safe in his crib. She had loved reading about it, dreamed about the bright flashes and glittering arcs it traced through the air. In all her fantasies, she had never once stopped to consider what magic would smell like.

The memory of the scent never settled, always shifting. It would have bothered her to think about it too deeply, but if there was anything her experience had taught her, it was that magic was not bound by the laws of reality. It was something so much more than the human mind could explain.

Her opinion changed as time distanced her from her memories of the Labyrinth. At first it had smelled of the earth, rich with life and an extra tang that was _something else._ It had blended seamlessly with the rough walls and dank underground passages.

It smelled like the Goblin King.

Sarah paused in brushing her hair. She frowned, not liking the comparison her mind had drawn up. She didn't want to think of the Goblin King as anything like magic. He was sneaky and obnoxious, cruel and tyrannical.

But her mind insisted, and it compared magic to the rich scent of leather gloves and cold crystal. Sarah's nose wrinkled. Did crystal even have a smell? More than that was the same earthy aroma that emanated from the heart of the labyrinth, a dark, feral scent that was the Labyrinth, Jareth, and magic all rolled up into one.

Sarah giggled as she realized that she was essentially comparing Jareth to _dirt. _But it was magic dirt, so maybe he wouldn't mind so much.

Then another thought occurred to her and she dropped her brush all together as her giggles morphed into outright laughter. If magic smelled like the Labyrinth, and the Labyrinth smelled like Jareth, then that meant that the Goblin King smelled like the Bog of Stench.

That she could live with.

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	6. Temptation

A conversation with a friend of mine inspired this one a few months back. What she said stuck with me and then decided to make it self useful.

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Sarah ran down the long corridor, the cobble stones dusty and unforgiving beneath her bare feet. In her old dreams, she had not been able to feel, at least not like this. She'd been a phantom in her own mind, and in her sleep the senses had no place. But in this dream world, every moment was as true and real as her life before she closed her eyes. It was exhilarating. It was terrifying.

The horizon loomed in the distance, and no matter how much she ran, it never got any closer. That didn't stop her from running. Sarah didn't know why she was running, couldn't see what drove her through the twisting, shifting corridors of the Labyrinth. She was only aware of her goal in the way she knew she was alive. Her purpose eluded her as she raced barefoot through the dreams of humanity and magic combined.

Every night, it was the same dream. She would run as she was running now. She didn't know where she was going, or what she was trying to reach, but she couldn't stop. A tingling started in the pit of her stomach and spread outward. It had used to frighten her, but now it was only part of the dream, a warning to what would come next. Then Sarah was falling, and this time there were no Hands to catch her.

When Sarah gently touched down, she had returned to the shattered room where she had last confronted the Goblin King. The broken stair cases loomed in the middle distance, so close and yet completely unreachable. The sky was a shining collage of color that could not decide which one should be most dominate, and instead writhed in a battle for control that rang familiar in the marrow of her bones.

Her mind protected by the soft embrace of sleep, here she could confront just how deadly her battle with the Goblin King had been. In reality the concept was too harsh, too real for her to understand just what she'd been gambling with. That she had managed to escape with her dreams intact spoke of her childish stubbornness and the Goblin King's honor in his word. Without those, she would have been lost forever, a broken, brittle thing that could not dream.

Sarah turned, and there was the Goblin King, Jareth. He was a magnificent creature, with his shining hair and mismatched eyes. He smiled at her, a smirking specter in her dreams, a looming shadow that reached for her with leather clad hands and taunted her with bittersweet stares that left her heart racing and her mouth dry.

"Hello Sarah."

She stared at him, her gaze taking in everything. "Goblin King, why am I here?"

His smile kicked up in the corner, and he turned to watch her out of the corner of his eye. "I have a gift for you, Sarah."

Her chin lifted to reveal flashing brown eyes. "I don't want anything from you."

"But you have yet to see what it is that I am offering you. Don't be so hasty in your denials, Sarah. You just might change your mind." He waved his gloved hand and in a swirl of magic a clock appeared beside him. It was the same one that he had revealed to her at the start of her journey.

It was fashioned of heavy black wood, and the clock face was scripted with stylishly curling numbers that she thought suited the Goblin King's flare for the dramatic. The designs that flowed across black wood were gilded with gold and glittered in the strange light of her dream world. The image of the clock was helplessly marred when Sarah noticed that the fragile hands that tracked across the white face were gone.

She tilted her head to the side, her confusion apparent. "There are no hands. What use is a clock that doesn't tell time?"

Jareth smiled and he walked towards her then passed her, coming to a stop at her back with his breath warming her ear. "That is not an ordinary clock, Sarah. It is something very precious."

"How can a broken clock be precious?" She didn't turn to face him, unbothered by him at her back. Here, in her dreams, she was not frightened of him. There was nothing to fear of him, not when she had already proven that he held no power over her.

"Ah, but the clock is not broken. It is exactly as it should be."

"Don't be silly. What else does a clock do but tell time?"

Jareth stepped away from her and moved towards the clock. A gloved hand reached out to caress a path of gold, and then moved to touch one of the black numbers that fairly glowed against the absolute white of the clock face. "Clocks don't just tell time, they count down as well. They control the flow of time, give it shape and structure where it should be fluid."

"So you are offering me a way to control time?" Sarah crossed her arms, not bothering to hide her skepticism. She remembered him bragging about 're-ordering time' for her before, and her contempt for such a claim continued. One did not control time; they merely flowed with it or were swept along regardless of their desires.

"I am offering you the chance to be free of it entirely." Jareth turned towards her, and his eyes shone with a fevered light as he swept towards her, the air glittering and shining around his head. "This clock represents the absence of time."

Sarah frowned, skepticism morphing to outright disbelief. "You mean immortality."

"Just think of it, Sarah. You would be free to do as you wished, for as long as you wished. You would no longer be shackled by the endless race for gratification that is the human life." Jareth reached out and his gloved hand stopped a hair's breadth from her jaw, but did not close that last span of distance. "You would live forever."

"So you say," Sarah admitted, her brown eyes searching. "But what's the catch?" This time it was she who moved, and she circled around Jareth the same way he had circled her earlier. Her hands came up to feel the soft linen of his shirt, but stopped just short of actually touching him. "Your offer is very _generous, _Goblin King. You'll understand, of course, if I am skeptical."

Jareth spun, and when he would have placed his hands on her shoulders she stepped back. He smiled at her evasion. "I give you the same offer as before. Give yourself to me." He reached out again, and this time she did not step away as he brushed aside an errant bang. "Let me rule you, and I will pull you from the stream of time."

Sarah shook her head, knowing that as tempting his offer was, some things came at too high a price. "No. Never. I have said it before, and I will say it again. You have no power over me, and that will not change."

The smile melted from Jareth's face, and in its place were faint glimpses of the creature that wore the face of a man. "Sarah, don't be naïve. Think of what I'm offering you."

"I don't need to," she retorted sharply. "For some reason you want power over me, and I refuse to let you have it." She shook her head and stepped away from the clock, knowing without a doubt that there was some _catch_, some agenda that she could not see. And if there was anything the Labyrinth had taught her, it was that just because she couldn't see it, didn't mean that something wasn't there.

"Would it really be so bad?" Jareth followed her across the broken cobblestones, his gaze pleading. "I am offering you everything in exchange for your will to be mine. I am being more than fair with you."

"That you want it so badly is reason enough to deny you." Sarah lifted her hands over her ears to block out his musical words, but they echoed around in her head regardless. "No, no, and a thousand times no!" Closing her eyes against his haunting beauty, Sarah drew up every ounce of her stubborn will and set it against the tempting presence that lingered just out of reach.

She gasped when her wrists were seized and her eyes flew open to meet blazing blue and brown. "This is not over," Jareth vowed, his voice deep with promise and nightmares to come. "Your will is great, that is true. But it will only last so long, and when it finally runs out." He smiled and slowly leaned in until his warm breath brushed against her ear, making her shiver. "I will be waiting, Sarah."

Then he released her and Sarah was falling through darkness. As she fell crystal balls began to rain down around her, each one gleaming with the promise of a dream yet unfulfilled. Ignoring the temptation to reach out and snag one as it passed her by, Sarah pulled her arms in close to her chest and shut her eyes.

It was with a strangled gasp that she woke, and she sat up in her bed, heart pounding and eyes wild as her body remembered the sensation of free fall. Surrounded by the heavy silence that only night could bring, Sarah forced herself to breathe and remember.

Or at least try to.

Even as she struggled to hold her dream close, it slipped through her fingers just as quickly until it was nothing but shadowy impressions that blended with her fantastical imagination. She did not remember the gilded clock with its missing hands, or Jareth's tantalizing promise. All she carried with her from the dream world was the distant echo of a dark voice whispering in her ear.

_I will have power over you.

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_

This one was fun to write. ^-^

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	7. Clear as Crystal

Don't really know what inspired this one. Thought I would bring in a little mischief since Jareth seems like the kind of guy who enjoys messing with people.

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Jareth pressed closer, his eyes gleaming with magic and something inhuman. "Say it," he hissed. "Say the words."

Sarah pressed back against the dresser, ignoring the dull ache as the edge dug into her spine. She dragged in a deep breath and the effort it took frightened her. "You have no power over me."

His chuckle was dark. Bold hands feathered over her face, slid into her long hair. A gasp was ripped from her when her head was abruptly pulled back and she was forced to meet his mismatched eyes. His lips curled up into a feral smile that revealed the white point of his fangs. "Those aren't the right words."

Fear slid delicate tendrils around her heart, forcing it to beat harder against her rib cage in a mad rush to get away. Her hands reached out under their own power, one gripping his forearm, the bunching the white lawn shirt at his waist. "I don't understand. What do you want from me?"

"I want you to say the words." One hand remained buried in her hair, but the other seemed inclined to wander. Butter soft leather trailed down the arch of her neck and over her shoulder. The long fingers seemed to get distracted by the feel of her collar bones, and they stopped to trace them, making her shiver and tighten her grip on his arm.

"I did."

Jareth shook his head and the corner of his mouth curled up into a smile that was edged in something darker than shadow. "Those aren't the words I want." He leaned closer, his breath hot against her lips. "Give me what I want, or I'll take something else." His fingers abandoned the delicate line of her collar bone to chart a path between her breasts.

Sarah stiffened at the bold touch and she welcomed the flare of temper that warmed the cold chill Jareth's presence had inflicted. "Stop that!" She tried to push him away, but he remained solid, resisting her attempts to move him with ease. "I mean it."

An eyebrow lifted. "I don't doubt that, but it doesn't change your situation."

Furious, Sarah used her position against the dresser to lever him away from her. Pain swelled in her lower back, but she ignored it in the hopes for what she might gain from it.

Jareth's smirk was her only warning. Slipping one booted foot between her braced feet, he shoved at her leg with his knee, forcing her to lose her balance. Still partially braced against the dresser, Sarah was forced to clutch at Jareth or hit the floor. Jareth used her moment of weakness to release his hold on her hair and grip her thighs.

Sarah shrieked as she was bodily lifted up onto her dresser. Jareth set her right on the edge, his lean body between her thighs and a hand on her lower back holding her in place. Almost her whole weight was braced against him now, and that single hand held her in place with the kind of strength a normal man wasn't capable of. Now beyond angry, she tried to lash out at him with her fists. His eyes caught hers and her hands froze in mid-air, her limbs beyond her control as she drowned in the power of blue and brown.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he murmured lightly, his smile still in place as if nothing had happened. His thumb stroked her spine through her shirt, and Sarah glared at him.

"What do you want?" Her voice had diminished to a hoarse whisper.

"I want many things." His eyes glittered with some fierce emotion that urged Sarah to look away, to hide her face, only she couldn't. "But for now I want only one thing."

"But I don't know the words you want!"

Jareth didn't respond, merely watched her with eyes that gleamed with magic.

"How am I supposed to give you what you want if you won't tell me?" Sarah's temper snapped and she shoved at his shoulders once again. "Get away from me! This isn't fair!"

Sarah's struggles turned into a desperate attempt to catch her self as Jareth's supporting weight disappeared. She hit the floor on her hands and her knees, gasping in surprised pain as her knees and palms ached from the impact. Shoving her long hair out of her face, she pushed to her feet; eyes alight with a tangled mass of defiance, fear, and fury. "What the hell was that?" she snapped.

Leaning against the dresser Sarah had been imprisoned against only moments ago, Jareth smiled. A crystal ball was perched on his gloved fingers, the clear surface glinting and sparkling from the light overhead. "I got what I wanted."

"What?" Sarah glared at him, thinking about the last thing she'd said. "You wanted me to say it's not fair."

"Obviously." He began to roll the crystal across his fingers, but his eyes stayed on her.

"Why?"

Jareth smiled and tossed the crystal at her. Sarah reacted instinctively and reached out to catch the fragile orb. Her fingers closed around cold crystal moments before it burst in a shower of glitter that tingled and burned where it touched. Blinking to clear her vision of the spots that crowded it, she wasn't surprised to find that the Goblin King was gone.

Her legs gave way beneath her and she sagged to the floor. Covered in glitter and hands shaking, she didn't waste the energy hoping he wouldn't come back.

He always came back.

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Kind of random I know, but I can totally see Jareth doing that.....

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	8. Folly of Youth

Clearly school irritates me right now, but that's okay since I'm sure its a universal thing.

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Algebra swirling around her head in a flurry of letter and numbers, Sarah shoved her text book away from her, a flick of her wrist causing the book to slam closed with a heavy _thwump_. She ignored the looks thrown her way as the sound proved to be above and beyond the norms of pens scratching and the slither of pages turning. She was sick of math, and she was sick of studying.

Sarah glanced up the row of long tables, a frown pulling at the corner of her mouth as she saw all the other students hunched over their homework or thick textbooks. Their focus was a tangible, foreign thing, and she silently scoffed at them for it. Libraries weren't for studying, obviously. They were for _reading_.

Dismissing the rest of the students, Sarah turned her attention to the massive bookcases that flanked the tables like an honor guard. The cramped shelves were placed so the middle of the main room was devoted entirely to the long tables and the students who claimed them. The edges were filled with endless rows of bookcases, except for the entryway. A narrow corridor had been created where the shelves grudgingly gave way to those who would enter their domain.

Sarah badly wanted to disappear amongst them. She was only here because her dad had told her that he would be late picking her up from school today, and that she might as well get her homework done in the library. She hadn't bothered telling him how useless that suggestion was. How could one get any work done in the library when they were surrounded by hundreds of worlds, all with great adventures just waiting to be revealed?

Sarah glanced over her shoulder at the heavy desk the librarian used. Several tables separated her from being under the hawkish woman's immediate view, but there were few students seated between them, for obvious reasons. It wasn't like the woman would object if Sarah decided to get up, she probably wouldn't even notice, but Sarah was still hesitant to disrupt the intense quiet that had settled over the library as students _got things done. _

Her gaze drifted to the sheet of paper lying in front of her, and the algebra equations that had been penciled neatly across the surface. She was tired of working on math. Instead her mind yearned for a good book to engross her self in, something to relieve the endless monotony that was school.

Jaw clenched mulishly, Sarah abruptly stood, pushing her chair back so she could leave the table. She pointedly did _not _look behind her to where the librarian sat. All the better to say she honestly didn't know that she wasn't supposed to leave the table. Her back stiff as she waited for the inevitable command that didn't come; she nearly sagged in relief once she reached the sanctuary of the book shelves.

Positively gleeful in her defiance, Sarah smiled, and skipped down the narrow walkway that squeezed between each overflowing shelf. Unbothered by the towering weight of each shelf as it loomed over her head, Sarah easily navigated towards her favorite spot. She did not acknowledge the heavy books and their bold titles of various sciences, ancient histories, and more. Her eagerness was not for the dry words of learning, it was for distant worlds of dark creatures and forbidden love.

The fantasy selection was meager to her standards. She'd read all the books more than she could honestly count, but it was her refuge and she was not above returning to her favorite 'worlds'. Three bookcases were all that had been allotted to her favorite genre, and they were crammed full, books lying upon rows of books in order to make them all fit. It irritated her, the way her worlds were so easily disregarded. Reality was so boring. Why would anyone want to stay in it when they could so easily send there mind somewhere so much better? Who would willingly live in a place so utterly devoid of magic?

Sarah wove amongst the three bookcases, her hand reaching up to trail across the row of spines like she was petting a cat. Which one? There were so many choices, and yet so few. Would it really be so much trouble for them to add a new book once in a while? Guess the school really wasn't into enriching the minds of their students. Not with anything truly worth while anyway.

She was considering whether or not to reread her current favorite when a red spine caught her eye. Sarah zeroed in on the intruder, frowning as she dragged her finger down the blank spine. No title? Eyes glittering with suppressed excitement, she tugged the book from between its neighbors.

It was a small book, just large enough to fit comfortably on her palm and light enough that it could extend past the length of her fingers without falling. There was a black border decorating the edges of the cover, and the title was faded gold.

"The Labyrinth," she read aloud, smoothing one hand over the cover. "I've never seen you before."

Holding the book, Sarah would have sworn she felt the skin of her palm tingle where ever she touched it. Flipping it over, she perused the back for a summary of the contents only to find it blank. Turning it back over, she ran a finger over the faded title, thinking.

It was stupid, but beneath the excitement of her new discovery, Sarah heard the tiniest whisper of caution. There was something about this book…..something that urged her to place the book back on the shelf and walk away.

Sarah was on the cusp of putting the book back, of listening to the warning, when she realized just what she was thinking. How could there be anything wrong with reading a book? Smiling at her own over active imagination, Sarah turned and trotted down the aisle towards the librarian and her monstrous desk. Looks like she'd found something new to read after all.

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	9. Kingly Contemplations

This one is by far my favorite. Jareth is so much fun to write!

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The grating chatter of the goblins washed over Jareth as he slouched in his throne. One booted foot was draped over the arm rest, his head tilted back to rest on the tanned hide that covered the seat. His gloved fingers twiddled with a slender crop and he tapped the leather tip against his knee. Eyes closed, he didn't need to see the goblins to know that they watched him with a potent combination of fear and awe. Both were delicious in the magic soaked air of his kingdom.

Another girl had been brought into the Labyrinth. He had played his role, and sent the goblins to make due on her wish. Then he had appeared before her and offered her the challenge. Walk the Labyrinth for the chance to rescue her little sister, or leave the child in the hands of the goblins. The girl had taken up the challenge, and even now she was attempting to find her way through the shifting walls.

Lounging in his throne, Jareth could feel the minute changes that a mortal brought to his domain. The magic was sharper, more alive as it challenged the will of the interloper. The very air itself seemed to vibrate as the mortal's dreams wove through the magic that formed the weft and weave of the Labyrinth's core nature. Jareth supposed that was one part of the Challenge he hated the most. That these careless mortals would be able to infect his kingdom with their dreams, fragile as a butterfly's wing, and just as easy to crush.

There was a small whine from the baby girl that sat placidly amongst his minions in the center of his throne room. She was a sweet enough creature, he supposed. So far she seemed content to remain quiet as long as one of the goblins kept her entertained with colored stones and a bone rattle. Watching her, Jareth could only wonder what had possessed the girl running his Labyrinth to wish the infant away.

Jareth continued to watch the baby through hooded eyes before he returned his gaze to the vaulted ceiling. A flick of his wrist vanished the crop, and another quick twist had a crystal materializing in his palm. The cool weight pressed through the material of his glove and he licked his lips as he tasted the magic that rippled outwards from the small summoning.

A smirk tugged the corners of his mouth as he watched the frightened girl stumble wildly through twisting corridors. "What a little fool," he murmured, and the goblins closest to him turned wide eyes upon him.

Such pathetic creatures these girls were. Caught between the naïve wonder of a child and the harsh truths of adulthood, they were easy prey for his spinning web of crystal dreams. Jareth twirled the crystal ball along his fingers, his gaze enraptured by the light that sparkled off the rounded sides. So eager to embrace their dreams, they did not recognize the danger until it was too late.

Within the depths of the crystal Jareth watched as the unfortunate girl's dreams gradually unfolded. As time passed they would grow stronger, clearer. By the end of the thirteen hours he'd given her, he would have stolen something far more precious than a sibling.

The beauty of it was that the girls did not know what they were offering up to him. They did not recognize the snare that lurked behind glittering bait. Did they think it was by chance that they knew the words to summon his minions? The power of their dreams called to him with their siren songs and he gave them the tools to their own inevitable destruction.

Only a powerful dreamer could draw his notice. It was through their dreams that he gave his world shape, a world of magic and wonder built upon the endless dreams of mortals. He thought it only fitting that he should gift them with a chance to see what they would be adding to. With the raw imagination of a child and the budding desires of womanhood that they not yet understood, they were a potent source. It was during this time that they were at their weakest and their dreams the strongest.

Mismatched eyes flicked to the ornate clock that hung in the corner, and the smirk widened, dark satisfaction oozing out of the indolent ruler. "Two hours left and she hasn't made it passed the outer ring."

One of the bolder goblins reached out to pet the baby's downy head. "The baby is as good as ours, Master."

"Yes, it does seem that way." The Goblin King's cool gaze returned to the depths of the crystal. The runner was crying now, her fair face streaked with tears and dirt as she gave into her despair. He had warned her, as was the rules of the dark game he played. All those who entered into his game must enter willingly, or the magic was null.

'_Turn back; turn back before it's too late.'_

So he warned them, it was not his fault that they did not heed his warnings.

'_What a pity. You have thirteen hours in which to solve the Labyrinth before the baby becomes one of us...forever. Such a pity.'_

She would not make it, he knew. After a time he had come to realize that few wishers had the will or the flexibility of self that was needed to overcome his Labyrinth. Too many held the delusions of a child in believing that in the end they would not suffer the consequences brought crashing down upon their own heads. Also was the rigid belief that his world was not _real_; and thus not a true threat. They learned the truth in the end, but by then he already had what he wanted, and it was far too late.

He had underestimated Sarah.

Jareth curled his lip at the flair of anger that flashed through him, followed by the jagged pain of humiliation. Sarah. A mere mortal, and she'd defeated him at his own game. From the very beginning she'd refused to follow the steps of his dance. So full of fire that one. Her dreams had been powerful, so clear and crisp within his crystal from her first step into his Labyrinth.

It was not the first time his Labyrinth had been defeated by mortal will. It was the nature of the game that only those strong of heart and mind were capable of seeing beyond the deceiving glitter of unfulfilled dreams. It was not the first, but something had been different, none had been like Sarah. It was one thing to walk away from the Labyrinth, dreams and sibling in tow, it was another to bring him so low as to actually beg for them to concede rather than steal his victory one dream filled crystal at a time.

He could still remember the words that had spilled from his lips, and even now they weighed on his tongue like ash. He should have known Sarah was different when he first encountered her dreams. From the beginning there had been something that the others lacked. There had been a spark, a rough heat that had fascinated him, and so he had given her the means to summon him.

It did not help that he could not forget the way her dreams sparkled within the depths of his crystal, or the way the Labyrinth had mirrored her power in a way that had forced him to beg when the end was near.

Once more staring deep into the crystal, Jareth watched as the images inside blossomed with color, the clear surface vibrating against his fingers. So close to that defining moment when dreams were lost and with them his victory was assured. He glanced once more at the clock. One more hour. One more hour until the girl faded, her very being lost without the dreams that gave her purpose.

Jareth smiled. Sarah may have escaped his clutches, but there were so many more dreamers out there, just waiting to be seduced.

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Do tell me how much this one rocked! Flattery will get you everywhere!

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	10. Beneath the Moonlight

Had fun with this one. Took me a little while, but I came, I wrote, and I so conquered!!!

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"I really wish you wouldn't insist on running so late at night, Sarah. It's not safe with who knows what running about."

Sarah let Karen's words wash over her, carrying her jogging shoes down the stairs in silence. Where a year before she would have defended herself with all the drama she could muster, now she allowed her silence to speak for her.

"Why can't you run during the day like a sane individual? That way you can at least see where you're going."

Kneeling by the doorway Sarah slipped her feet into the shoes. In quick gestures that bespoke familiarity she tugged on the worn laces, forcing the shoes to conform to her feet. Her fingers teased the grey strings into small bows, and then tied them again to keep them from coming undone. Satisfied that the knots would not slip free she got to her feet.

"Sarah, are you listening to me?"

Sarah turned, calm in contrast to the agitation that crackled around her stepmother. "I'm listening to you, Karen. I run at night since my job and classes don't give me time to do it during the day. You know this." A smile to frustrated concern, no matter how misplaced. "I take Merlin with me and stay close to public areas. Nothing is going to happen."

Thin lips remained pressed in a tight line, but surrender was declared in drooping shoulders. Instead a new battle front was chosen. "Can you at least promise not to run through the park? I worry about what can happen to you in there. It's not the same during the day."

"I enjoy running through the park." Implacable calm veiling what would have been shining steel. No defense, no fits of temper that lost ground rather than gained. Defense was only needed when there was a possibility of something being lost or stolen.

A quick shake shed frustration off tight shoulders, but words held it close. "Fine. Do what you want. You've never listened to me anyway, why start now?"

Sarah stayed in the entry way long enough to hear her stepmother's retreat into the kitchen, where she was greeted by her father's voice. She didn't plan to linger, knowing from experience that Karen would only resume the fight in the hope of winning with her husband where she lost to Sarah.

Reaching into the hall closet Sarah lifted the blue leash off its small hook, flicking her wrist so the metal clasp chimed softly. The sound wasn't obnoxious, but it was loud enough. She'd barely shut the closet door when she heard the patter of paws over carpet, and the heavy breathing of an eager dog. She smiled as Merlin thundered down the stairs and raced toward her, his shaggy fur flying every which way. It never failed to amuse her, seeing all that fur. How exactly did he manage to see?

She pulled the excited dog close, her fingers hooking underneath his collar. "Come here, boy. Hold still or I won't be able to get this on you." A dull click as she hooked the leash onto the collar and they were ready.

Closing the door behind her as quietly as she could, Sarah paused on the porch. She allowed her eyes to adjust from bright indoor lights to dim moonlight. Merlin waited patiently beside her, content now that he was outside. When she trusted her vision enough to keep from stumbling over uneven pavement she stepped off the porch and onto the street, a panting Merlin at her heels.

Together, young woman and dog moved down the street, Sarah jogging with Merlin trotting comfortably by her side. As she ran Sarah let her mind shed all the details of her life. She pushed aside thoughts of work, the knowledge that she had a paper due in two days, and that she still hadn't paid her parent's for the car payment yet. Now there was only room for the dull impact of her feet over uneven ground, the soft swish of her pants rubbing together, the faint scrape of Merlin's claws over concrete.

Sarah threaded through various streets, down shadowed sidewalks and across empty intersections. Her chosen destination was a beacon that glittered and offered her absolution from rote days filled with school and work, both an endless cycle that would only morph into others, all impossible to escape. All a trap over laid with an illusion of freedom far more alluring than any crystal ball could cast.

The air was crisp at night. It tasted differently during the day when it was saturated with sunlight. The warmth of the sun was pleasant, but nothing compared to cool moonlight that teased at the parts of bare skin unprotected by sweater and pants. The lack of people was something to be appreciated as well. She treasured her chance to move along sidewalks that were normally crowded. The residential areas held the remnants of the sounds of daily life, most being reduced to fading echoes by the time she ran through.

At last she reached the park and now the stillness changed as it dragged over her. The soft click of Merlin's claws became muted as they encountered gravel instead of smooth pavement. Here the silence was deeper, filled with shadows and depths unseen. Here any noise was crushed against the taut stillness that came from being surrounded by the remnants of what life had been like before humanity tamed it.

The park was the last refuge of nature to make its stand against the humans as they crowded in on one another. It was here that the primitive edge of what it _had once been _remained, and that feeling only grew sharper with the onslaught of night. Daylight was the domain of man, and once the sun went down the night remembered.

Sarah slowed her jog to a stop as she approached the bridge.

She could feel the change that had taken place. There was a taste to the cool air that was different, enough so that she was _aware_ even if she lacked the words to describe. Merlin could feel it as well and the dog pushed closer, his rough fur warming the side of her leg. She absently reached down to bury her hand in his ruff, the tip of her fingers automatically scratching at the spot just behind his ears.

There was a choice in that moment, an awareness she had developed after a foolish wish given words. By crossing the bridge she would enter a world that was not her own. She was not a trespasser, not in the way humans considered the word. Instead it would be a shift of the balance that maintained the two worlds.

Touched by the magic of the Underground she was not one of them, but neither was she _Outsider._ In the scheme of things what she was could not be defined and so she continued to sway the balance, her will acting as the weight that would tip the scales in which ever direction she so chose.

It felt like she'd been standing where the bridge began for an eternity, even knowing that only a few minutes had passed at the most. Every night she ran she stopped, refusing to make the mistake of jumping blindly towards a choice she did not fully understand. She knew she did not understand the game she was playing, venturing so boldly into a world that glittered and overflowed with shadows that watched with invisible eyes. Some nights she turned back, feeling the itch between her shoulder blades that told Sarah her presence had not gone unnoticed.

The crunch of gravel under foot relayed her decision and then she was crossing the bridge, Merlin close to her side. She started out walking, her eyes straying to the dancing moonlight that flowed beneath her feet. There should have been a sign of her passage, some other worldly tingle that meant she'd moved into another place. There was nothing, just the quiet chuckle of water below and the muted chorus of crickets as they welcomed the night.

Once she was clear of the bridge she broke into a jog. The combination of running and allowing herself to bask in the presence of the magical helped to remind her that there was more than the eyes could see. It would be so easy to slip back into the way of believing only in the things that touched her senses. Her childish fantasies, as much as they had led her astray, had still been rooted in the belief that they were just that, fantasies.

The change happened slowly, a flower opening its petals with gradual ease. Soft whispers slid through night heavy air, and any attempt to focus on them only brought the sound of leaves rubbing together from the trees overhead. Between the stillness that grew between every loud exhale and the crunch of gravel she could hear memory-faint laughter. Merlin growled low in his throat, not a threat, but a display of the unease that lifted the fur along his neck and shoulders into a stiff bristle.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a quicksilver flash of light, followed by a flicker of movement that begged for her full attention. Sarah kept her eyes straight ahead, fixated on the winding path and the distant trees whose branches were bathed in shadow. Bold she might be to venture into the domain of those that were _Other, _but there were rules even she would not dare to disregard.

Just thinking about the way she had stomped all over a certain Goblin King's toes was enough to make her break out into a cold sweat. How differently that encounter might have gone if the Goblin King had been offended by her clumsy antics rather than amused. Some thoughts did not bear dwelling on.

Sarah was approaching the part of the path that wove amongst the trees in fickle patterns of moonlight and shadow when an invisible finger traced an ominous chill down the line of her spine. She jerked to a halt, struggled to plant her feet when loose gravel tried to carry her forward. The chill warning deepened when Merlin jarred to a halt at her side, paws spread wide as his head came down in a snarl and flash of canines.

Confused by the sensation with no obvious source, Sarah's gaze probed the shadow strewn path. Had the darkness been that deep before? No she was not imagining it. Before her eyes the shadows were sliding across dew soaked grass, drawn to the shrouded trees that gleamed pearl white where darkness was yet to reach. They gathered into a looming mass that billowed like smoke teased by the wind, only the air held its breath in building anticipation.

Sarah knew she should run, limbs trembling as her body followed instinct. Her feet remained planted, instinct buried under the threat of curiosity that bound her tight enough to choke common sense. Magic was at work and she could taste it, tangy and sweet across her tongue; smelled the bitter ozone of a gathering storm on a cloudless night. The world of the Underground had snared her in its glittering trap, and even free of it she could not help but yearn. So she watched and at her side Merlin's growl remained a low rumble as he pressed closer.

Staring into the void she registered movement, a flux of _true night _against shadow as a form separated it self. It leaned forward and with every step it grew more defined, sharpening along the edges into a body. Color bloomed beneath shadow and it grew, pushing aside the darkness. In the space of a few breaths a figure was revealed, caught between writhing shadow and gentle moonlight.

It was beautiful in a way that no human could ever achieve. The features had been molded by magic, straight lines and smooth skin that were blindingly perfect beneath the human eye. The gender was not immediately obvious, and Sarah found she didn't care as her gaze traveled over long limbs that held strength in their keeping; over black eyes that echoed the void at its back. It stood in silence as the darkness ebbed around its body, drawing back like the tides to reveal a shimmering silver tunic and loose pants. The shadows remained nestled in the hollow of its body, tucked within soft folds of cloth.

Endless black watched her, and Sarah averted her gaze from gleaming ebony, having learned her lesson at the hands of another. "You are a strange one, little human."

The voice that emerged from the fae creature's lips was undoubtedly male, and carried a lilting, musical quality. It was beautiful even as it assaulted her ears with something that was far from pain and kin with discomfort, dredging up old desires that she had thought long buried. The lilting tones did not behave as a voice should, and Sarah had the impression that he was mimicking the sounds without any care for the meaning behind them.

He seemed amused by her silence. "We are not unaware of your visits. Humans are prone to avoiding this place after dark, yet you seek it out."

"What are you?" The question was soft. Sarah didn't know if it was a good idea to interact with the fae, but sense had long been discarded for insatiable curiosity.

"I am quite curious. Why does a human child walk in the world of the sidhe of its own free will?" There was no gentle crunch of gravel as the fae moved closer; the silence only seemed to deepen around them. "One would wonder if the human child were seeking something." A smile curled in the corner of pale lips. "Something that can not be found in the world of the mortals."

The temper that allowed her to face a King in his castle flared to life, ignoring the unease that threatened to smother it. "I enjoy running through the park." A chin was lifted, dark hair escaping its black tie to frame her face in rebellious wisps. "Who are you?" As her gaze roamed his face she felt a nudge, an awareness that she tried to grasp, only to have it slip away.

The fae, or was it a man, chuckled. "Mortal lies are such feeble little things." A step closer, shadows sliding closer across moon bathed gravel. "It's a wonder you even bother. Magic changes mortals once it touches them." Long fingers fluttered in her direction as the smile widened to reveal even, white teeth. "Like warping a piece so it can no longer fit in the puzzle."

Sarah scowled, clutching Merlin's leash in a white knuckled fist, even in her anger unwilling to approach the strange creature that watched her with empty eyes. "I am happy." Given life, the words fell flat between them, her voice unable to convey the determination that burned within her.

"One touched by magic can find no happiness in a world devoid of it. Do you yearn, child? Do you miss the ripe fruit now that you have returned to scraps?"

Against her will Sarah flinched. The creature's words tore at her, scratched at wounds she had closed off once she realized that there was no way to heal them. As strong as the day it happened was the memory of a peach. Her tongue could remember the explosion of tart flavor with fervor beyond hunger, sharper than desire.

Black eyes narrowed, something fierce glittering within shining ebony. "Far worse than even I had imagined. What did you eat, human?"

Sarah did not want to answer, intuition urging her to hold that truth close. Why? The damage had already been done. "A peach. I was tricked." Bitter regret collided with the yearning ache, visions of a masked ball from a Goblin King's gift of a crystal dream. A gift turned curse now that she had time to realize just what he had done.

Surprise flickered, followed by something infinitely darker. Then both were swept aside by a wide smile that was the most enchanting thing she had ever seen. It was luminous, shining in the night like a star that would never die. It drew her in, urged her closer.

It wasn't right.

A part of Sarah that she did not recognize stalled her feet when they would have carried her forward. Confused, she buried her hand in the fur of Merlin's back, fingers curling into coarse hair. She nudged at the feeling, hoping to prod it out into the open where she could examine it thoroughly. It slithered away, refusing to be pinned by her query.

"You are strong, for a human." The voice held a fine edge to it now, reminding her of the way light played across broken shards of glass. Beautiful, and hiding the lethal edge that would slice through skin with ease. "One could almost say that you belong to neither world now."

"I am human." One who had faced a fae lord in his domain and came away the victor. One who had befriended the dwarf that guarded the entrance to the Labyrinth, and charmed a monster with an offer of friendship. One that could sense the latent magic of a world accused of having none.

"I could give you what you want most." Shadows trembled, reaching for her across rough gravel and wet grass.

The musical voice sparked the embers of her temper into a simmering fury. "You know nothing of what I want. And what I want most you cannot give me." Doubt crept in on silent feet, whispering of possibilities if she were to only hold out her hand.

A satisfied smile twisted until it possessed the hard lines of a smirk. "I know what you want, and what you tell your self you want." A step closer, black eyes burning. "I could give you a chance to see the world of the fae. A world beyond crumbling walls and dank magic. A chance to see the true kingdom of the sidhe." A glint of triumph followed her shock. "Yes, I know who tricked you, human." His distaste was obvious before perfect features smoothed into tranquility. "He is known among our kind. Without his illusions he is a rather coarse creature."

Sarah eyed the fae with new speculation. So he knew the Goblin King?

"I will show you the world beyond the Labyrinth. Is that not what you want?"

She had wanted to see it. Her dreams carried her beyond the shifting walls of the eternal maze to glittering castles shrouded in mist, of endless green hills that shone like emeralds beneath a sun that glowed rather than burned. No matter how many times she lay in bed convincing herself that she wanted her life back, before magic and treachery had changed it, she knew that the world of the Fae called to her with the sweetness of a juicy peach to a starving man.

Still caution held her, the smallest sliver of disquiet taking refuge in the rumbling growl at her side. Merlin was an affable dog that enjoyed the company of all, strangers and family. The tension coiling through the warm body pressed against her leg was a blatant sign that something was wrong. Prodding would reveal where the danger lay, but Sarah knew without a doubt that the source lay within shining ebony eyes that were yet to blink.

Her discomfort only grew as she felt her desire struggle against the whisper of caution. She was not the same child from _Before_ dammit! She was better than this, smart enough not to be drawn in by the promise of a smooth smile and pale skin that glittered out of the corner of her eye. The need cut at her, drowned out the fragile whisper with a desperate keening that made her want to reach out and see if the creature's skin was warm, or if it felt like the marble it resembled. No matter how much common sense and instinct screamed no, the memory of cold crystal and sweet hunger for _more more more_ pulled and tugged.

Sarah wasn't even aware that she had taken a step forward, the dull crunch of gravel beneath her feet ignored. Her fingers buried in Merlin's coat refused to let go and her hold tugged the reluctant canine with her. Merlin snapped and growled, but followed her tug, legs stiff as he fought. Merlin's reaction should have alarmed her, coming from such a mild mannered dog, but a fog had slipped between her thoughts and everything was moving slower now.

A shaky hand reached out, and Sarah watched it with vague disinterest, seeing it as the hand of a stranger. Glittering triumph bloomed in deep ebony, perfect face smiling with just enough derision to spark a memory. Miss-matched eyes glared at her from beneath wild pale blonde hair that shone against musty stone; lips pressed into a thin line as frustration flashed across a face too beautiful to be human. Edged desperation flitting through blue and brown as the words were cast between them, weighted by conviction and edged with the vengeful fury of one who had had _enough._

Again a warning hummed through the back of her mind. Sarah seized the brief moment when the answer hovered just out of reach and stretched for it……

The answer was a cold splash of reality that washed away the fog and swirling need that rippled in blues and reds and greens before her eyes, the fantastical colors fading away as the spell was shredded. Without the buffer of the subtle working that had been woven with such delicate care, Sarah realized how cold it was in the park.

Sarah took a step back, clutching her formerly outstretched hand against her chest. "Wearing his face will not help you." It was obvious now that she had managed to see beyond the spell induced haze. The thin cheeks, the pointed chin, the straight line of the nose. All startlingly perfect and heart breaking, even knowing the creature that lurked behind it.

The fae froze, its stolen face frozen in shock before contorting into a macabre smile. Pointed teeth gleamed in the light of the moon. "So you are able to See. That is too bad for you, human. Others may have the choice, but I'm afraid you will not be given that liberty." Its voice lost the melodious tune from before and adopted a rattling hiss that grated and caught in its throat.

Free from the malaise that had gripped her with honeyed fingers, Sarah stumbled back, the chill that followed her fear causing her skin to break out in goose bumps. Merlin yelped as he scrambled after her, his teeth exposed as he backed away. The dog was clearly terrified, his tail tucked between his legs and his body hunched even as he retreated. Sarah did not have time to wonder at the dog's loyalty, knowing that she had at one point dropped the leash, before her attention was once more arrested by the creature stalking her.

It was hunting her now, its steps filled with the liquid grace that had every nerve in her body clamoring an alarm. People didn't move like that, as if bones and muscle was not the only thing holding him together. Pale, long fingered hands lifted, each one sporting a claw that appeared lethally sharp.

Worse than the creature were the shadows. They were moving towards her as well, defying the moonlight to reach for her with hungry intent. Sarah's mind struggled to process when one rippled, then lifted up, a shadow tendril lifting up as a snake would. Several more followed its lead and a scream lodged in her throat. Sickness coiled in her belly, a flash of _wrongness_ followed by nausea as she stared in enrapt terror at the living darkness that stalked her with the fae. The fae was smiling wider now, the bastard drinking in her fear.

Sarah wanted to turn and run but she could not, would not turn her back on the creature with his tendrils of living magic. Merlin was outright snarling now, and his fur was stiff beneath her fingers. Both girl and dog shuffled backwards, the fear of an unguarded back far more potent than seeing the foe pursue them with malicious glee.

The shadows could not be allowed to touch her. The knowledge of what would happen to her when they did was fueled only by wild imagination and bone deep fear, but it clamored through her, shrieking a shrill warning that what she was facing now was far more dangerous than a fickle Goblin King. Something vital was at stake, if not her dreams than something that would shatter her with its loss.

One of the shadow tendrils snapped out, flicking a scant inch from the tip of Merlin's muzzle. The dog's snarl was cut off by a yelp, and he skittered backwards, tucking his bulk behind Sarah's body.

Merlin struck the back of Sarah's legs hard and she stumbled, her hair whipping around to strike her full in the face. With a muffled shriek she flailed, catching herself by sliding one foot to the side and bracing a shaking hand on Merlin's back. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized that she'd taken her gaze off the creature. Heart in her throat she whirled around in time to see a black tendril reach for her, a void slicing through shallow moonlight.

Satisfaction oozed along thin lips as the high shriek of an owl shattered the night. Sarah barely had time to flinch away from the reaching shadow when a white blur flashed across her vision. As she stumbled back all her mind could process were the soft brush of feathers across her cheek.

The owl shrieked again, its talons slicing through shadow. Sarah could feel its fury as it lunged at the other tendrils. Another scream, only this one higher, sharper; honed with a rage that she could _feel._ The swaying tendrils stiffened at the strange cry, twitching and contorting before they fell in on themselves, once more returning to a state that followed light rather than defy it.

The creature blanched at the owl's first shriek, and the sight of his beaten shadows made its face contort into a mask of rage, black eyes narrowed into thin slits of malice. "She is fair game, Puppet Master! You have no power here!"

Another shriek, only this one was different from the others. It echoed through the still air, but it was only as the echo faded around her that Sarah realized how quiet it was. The only sounds she could make out were Merlin's low growls and the slight rustle as the owl hovered over her head.

Sarah screamed when thunder ripped through the heavy stillness. A sizzle, followed by a flush of light preceded the fae being thrown back. It slid across the ground before twisting and leaping to its feet. Seeing its face, Sarah swallowed a cry of horror, her free hand coming up to cover her mouth as her legs lost their strength and she sagged to the ground beside Merlin.

The fae's face was gone. It had been ripped away, and now in its place was a black hole. The true horror lay in the edges of the face that still remained, the sides chipped and jagged as a piece of pottery that had been smashed.

"You will pay for this, Goblin King! She is not claimed, has no protection. If not me, then someone will finish what I have–," The disembodied voice screamed, the sound high and rising higher, forcing Sarah to cover her ears. It collapsed, still screaming. As it writhed in agony, Sarah could see the illusion of its humanity being peeled away to reveal spindly arms and legs with a bony torso, a pseudo creature with no gender, just sickly pale skin and jagged claws that tore deep furrows into the earth.

Once the creature stopped screaming it climbed to its feet, the disembodied voice dripping with malevolence. "Do not preen over your victory, Goblin King." The creature spat the title, spittle dripping between jagged teeth. "I am not strong enough to defy you, but there are others. Remember that." The creature's empty face turned towards Sarah, and even without its eyes she could feel its searing glare, felt the fury that simmered and boiled beneath clenched hands that she could see now sported an extra knuckle.

When the creature turned and loped away, Sarah didn't take a deep breath until it had vanished into the shadowy realm from which it came. After the creature's departure the shadows lightened amongst the trees, returning to the natural blend of light and darkness as the magic followed the fae.

It all happened so fast. Now there was only the owl, which the creature had referred to as the Goblin King himself. Sarah found that hard to believe, imagining the flashy fae king disguising him self as an owl of all things. She wasn't sure what she was expecting to happen, but it wasn't for the owl to fly away without a second glance.

She wasn't sure how long she watched the bird fly away, a speck of white that gradually faded beyond the range of her eyes. Sarah was sure it was shock that kept her standing there in the dark long after the owl had vanished, unable to make her self move. Without knowing how, she knew that the darker denizens of the park were gone, fading away to escape the two powerful fae clashing together. What was that thing? Had that owl really been Jareth? She didn't know, and she wasn't sure how to find out.

She'd come to the decision that shock or no, she had better get home before Karen began to panic, when she saw it. A glint of white out of the corner of her eye. Frowning, Sarah walked towards it and warily knelt down. It was a pinion feather, blindingly white against the dark grass. As her fingers closed around the stem, a jolt shot through her followed by a delicate tingle that arced through her fingers and fizzed to the tip of her nails.

Unease lifted its head once more, and Sarah wondered if she escaped one trap only to stumble head long into another. Her anxiety faded when nothing leapt out to grab her and the shadows remained quiescent around long spills of moonlight.

Getting to her feet, Sarah decided that it was best to return home. There was no sense testing fate, or whatever else lurked in the depths of the park once night fell.

Turning, Sarah jogged back down the path, a dog at her heels and a feather twirled between two fingers.

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So go ahead and tell me what you think! Kind words would be amazing, and flames I shall use to roast marshmallows!!!! S'mores any one?

Read and Review!


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